Batman Eternal #34

By Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Kyle Higgins, Ray Fawkes, Tim Seeley, Alvaro Martinez, Raul Fernandez & Brad Anderson

“Maybe you’re right, Bruce. Maybe I’m not you. But right now…who would want to be?”

Kyle Higgins takes over on scripting duty for Batman Eternal #34 as Hush continues to drive Gotham into a downward spiral of hatred against Wayne Enterprises. This week focuses on Batman trying to find his way to Hush and stop him before causing any more damage – but has Batman figured out the bigger picture? Does he even know what’s about to happen to his city?

Pencilling this issue is Alvaro Martinez, who is accompanied by inker Raul Fernandez and colorist Brad Anderson. A great scene featuring a confrontation between Hush and Batman brings out a lot of action and desperation between the two warriors. As Hush tries to mess with Batman’s head – insults his “toys” and refers to him as just a boy trying to avoid the thought of mom and dad (harsh!) – we see Batman trying to keep his focus, but pulling some moves a bit out of character (you’ll see when you read it). A scene in the midst of their fight takes place on a page broken into six panels. You hear the insult from Hush and the focus dropping from Batman – which gives his nemesis an opening to strike first. The scene is detailed, and seeing Batman’s face in the glare of the helmet Hush is wearing shows off the Dark Knight’s desperation well. The colors hold well to the scene crafted by penciller Martinez and inker Fernandez as we see Batman in a position he doesn’t often find himself in…a desperate one.

This week we continue to see the fall of Gotham. Bard’s smirk needs to be wiped off once more as he finds humor in the plan coming together.